RT:So the opposition has already refused to
follow the amnesty agreement, saying they won't leave. What more
can the government offer them at this point?

Martin Sieff: It is very difficult to say that.
I think that the United States and the EU nations are very much
mistaken. What they should be doing is supporting the Ukrainian
government and urging the rebels, the holdouts, to accept the
amnesty agreement. The most important thing is to defuse tensions
and to prevent a new explosion of violence, and the opposition
are not doing this.

RT:And how do you think people on the
streets will react to that?

MS: It is very questionable. The vote is the
constructive vote but the fact that you have the hardliners still
holding out and refusing to accept the government terms is
certainly a negative development.

RT:Police say there was fighting between
two opposition groups, who fired rubber bullets and even threw
grenades at each other. Are we seeing cracks in their unity?

MS: I think we indeed are and I think one of the
aspects of this crisis which is being widely underestimated in
Brussels and Washington is precisely that, as we see on a much
larger scale in Syria, you have really different opposition
groups and there is a real danger of conflict and possibly an
eventual civil war between conflicting opposition groups.

RT:If these are just regular Ukrainians
coming out to voice their anger at the government, where would
they get weapons like rubber bullets and grenades?

MS: A very good question. I don’t have the
answer, but you are right to suggest this question.

RT:The prime minister has resigned, and an
opposition leader was offered his post. Why isn't the opposition
jumping at this opportunity to make real political change?

MS: You are absolutely right – there is no
question that was the case. Senator John McCain of the US was the
republican presidential candidate back in 2008, was there
alongside very responsible leaders from Western and Central
Europe. They were pouring gasoline, petroleum, on the fire, and
they have the responsibility for the explosions that have
followed.

RT:We saw EU leaders rally the protesters
late last year. Do you think that could have emboldened the
crowds to take their rioting to another level?

MS: I think the answer is obvious, because they
are not in a constructive mode. They are in an oppositional
destructive mode. They don’t want to make change to due process.
Their real target was not the formal prime minister. Their real
target is President Yanukovich himself.

RT:Clearly the country is still on a
knife-edge. Is really the only option for Yanukovich to resign
now?

MS: No. I think it would be disastrous if
President Yanukovich was to resign. I think if that was the case,
the dangers of civil war in Ukraine, between western Ukraine and
eastern Ukraine, with Kiev caught in the middle, would be much
greater. President Yanukovich should be supported by the EU and
the US. He is the main force for moderation and reconciliation
left in this country.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.